Review: Springfield XD Subcompact Mod 2 in 9mm
Jon Stokes 11.13.14
Lots of Tweaks
The Mod 2 keeps the XD’s high level of fit and finish and improves on it in a few small ways that are designed to make the gun more carry-friendly and easier to control.
The disassembly lever has been slightly contoured and smoothed out so that it’s less likely to chafe or snag. The bottom of the trigger guard has also been rounded out to prevent snagging. The original XD’s trigger guard was scalloped and looks like it could catch on something.
Also included in the Mod 2 is a fiber optic front sight. As you’d expect, this new front sight is markedly easier to see in low-light conditions, and the fact that it stands out from the two rear dots means that the eye naturally focuses on it first; this tends to make the gun a little faster on target than its older sibling.
Perhaps the biggest change the Mod 2 brings with it is something that Springfield is calling the “Grip Zone.” The Mod 2’s grip sports three different textures that are arranged across the gun’s grip. The idea is that these textures offer improved grip that keeps the gun from torquing during recoil and makes it easier to control. I can’t speak to any of the science behind it, but I can definitely testify that the Mod 2 is quite a bit grippier than the XD. Whether this is something you like or not will be up to you to decide.
The Mod 2 keeps the safety features, trigger, and other functional aspects of its older brother intact. This is great news for fans of the XD like me, but bad news for the handful of people who dislike the gun because it isn’t a Glock.
Ergos at the Range
Over the course of two range sessions and over 500 rounds, I liked the feel of the original XD better and was more accurate with it on my first two or so shots, but I shot slightly better with the Mod 2 if I was shooting larger groups. Here’s what I think is going on.
Springfield has reduced the weight and circumference of the Mod 2 ever so slightly versus the XD. I measured 15 grams of difference between the two guns. The Mod 2’s beaver tail is also subtly tweaked so that it holds your hand a little tighter in the same position. Finally, the area where the thumb rests on the frame has narrowed a bit. The overall result is that the new gun is better suited than its predecessor for normal sized hands.
I, however, have really large hands, so whenever I picked up the Mod 2 it just didn’t feel “right” in the same way the original XD does. The XD is just a natural fit for my hand. It feels great, it shoots great, and I find I’m more relaxed with it. The Mod 2’s slightly less scalloped beaver tail, on the other hand, really digs into the top of my hand when shooting and even started creating a little callous. I can see where this new beaver tail would hold the gun in place more consistently if you had some play in your grip with the original XD, but I just don’t. My hand is so fat that original XD’s roomier beaver tail is a flawless fit.
In my particular case, the original XD just fees like it was custom-fit for my hand, which means that any changes to the design are pretty much guaranteed to make it feel less like a custom fit. What makes the choice between the two agonizing is that, as I mentioned above, I saw a slight increase in accuracy with larger groups with the Mod 2.
Here’s how this played out for me on the range. My first one or two shots with the original XD were typically closer to the center of the target, but after emptying the mag I found that Mod 2 came out ahead in terms of fewer flyers and overall shot pattern. My theory is that the original XD is a better fit for my large hand, but the Mod 2 starts to shine because it stays consistent after some amount of exhaustion and stress have set in. In other words, I like the XD out of the gate because it just feels “right” and I’m more relaxed starting out with it, but under less optimal circumstances (e.g., by round 10 or so), I’m shooting a little better with the Mod 2.
I suppose this means that the Mod 2 would make a better defensive weapon, because I’m likely to be more stressed on those first two or so shots in a defensive situation. It’s a hard call. I would rather be shooting the original XD, but I could make a case to myself that the Mod 2 would be better in a real-world defensive situation.
The other thing I found is that Mod 2 took some getting used to, and my accuracy progressed with it over the course of the second range session. This wasn’t really the case with the original XD. I ended up roughly where I started out with it. Again, the Mod 2 feels like a different gun, so you do have to shoot it a bit differently, which took a while for me to figure it out.
In the final accounting, the main thing I can say about the Mod 2’s ergos is that they definitely are different from the original XD, and as with most things ergonomic, the choice of which is better is probably going to come down to the individual shooter. I need more range time with both of these guns before I can really make a decision (I just got them in late last week, so I’ve only been able to make two trips so far.) If I had to pick right now, the original XD has my heart because it just feels right, but I saw significant improvement in my accuracy with the Mod 2 over the course of a single session, which tells me that I need more range time with it to really see what it can do.
